The heart of collaboration consists of individuals working together. Regardless of the larger context, each of us can either foster or hinder collaboration in our day-to-day contacts with other people. These are some suggestions to consider in working with families and other service providers:
· Be willing to listen to and understand the needs, goals and procedures of others.
· Respect the operating procedures of other individuals and organizations.
· Keep the goal in mind.
· Be flexible enough to accept numerous paths to the goal.
· Be willing to let go of some decision-making power.
· Be the first to offer to share a resource, assist in an activity, or try a different way.
· Let someone else take the lead in carrying out an activity.
· Give others the credit for having accomplished an objective or achieved a success.
· Reach out to a counterpart in another agency. Invite him to participate in an upcoming activity or planning effort.
(Adpated from Jesien, G.S. (1996). Interagency Collaboration: What, Why, and With Whom. In P. Rosin, A.D. Whitehad, L.I. Tuchman, G.S. Jesien, A.L. Begun, & L. Irwin, Partnerships in family-centered care: A guide to collaborative early intervention. Baltimore, MD:; Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.; reprinted by permission.
A few additional strategies for working across agencies might include: (1) getting to know about other agencies (e.g., read an agency’s mission statement, informational brochures, and progress reports; set up meetings to introduce yourself and your early interagency program); (2) getting to know agency personnel (e.g., visiting other programs, collaborating on a project of mutual beneficial to the two agencies, belonging to other programs’advisory committees and inviting other agency personnel to be part of your program’s advisory groups, invite other agency staff to do an in-service for your program staff and reciprocating by doing an in-service at the other program, holding joint social gatherings for staff or families from both programs); and (3) attending local interagency coordinating councils, if they exist.